Why Thinking Like An Effective Engineer Will Make A Difference

Steve Jobs is right, ‘You cannot not connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking back.’ Little did I know how much I would discover from attending StartCon 2017.

StartCon is a unique conference in Australia. It brings together the Australian Start Up and Growth Community, the largest event of its kind in Australia. As a Facebook Ads Specialist, I’m a growth marketer so to be surrounded by 4,000+ within this community made sense.

With 60+ speakers I was challenged to determine which ones to see. My passions are in Usability, Financial Literacy, Facebook Strategy and Resilience. So it made sense to see speakers in these fields. I was intrigued by Edward Lau. I love being effective, so to hear the author of ‘The Effective Engineer’ was added to the list.

For more than 25 years my contact with engineering has been somewhat limited (or so I thought), then I got to be in the audience when Edmond Lau presented.

Edmond Lau is the ‘Effective Engineer’. What I gained the most out what Edmond had to say is that engineers can and do create incredible platforms for users that can and do have positive impacts on our lives, however if those that create them suffer in the creation process then we seriously need to reconsider how these platforms are developed. The more we enable a holistic approach to creation and development of platforms we all benefit.

This is why it is essential to connect the entire process of creation through to fulfilment of projects with the goals of all involved.

Just when I thought I wasn’t in the field of engineering, I sat in the crowd and had an ‘aha’ moment. I’m a marketing engineer.

I spend my days understanding clients defined boundaries (goals, content and audience targeting). I translate their requirements, determine what platforms to use and how to use them, create campaigns, test, review and adapt accordingly to get results.

Instant takeaways from his talk that I have implemented are:

1. Seek feedback more regularly and consistently from those I work with.

2. Say thank you more often to those I work with, we don’t work in silos, relationships are more important than the work itself.

3. Put my health first. Without it, I cannot be of assistance to my family, my team or my clients.

4. Ask my team, friends, family and clients what their goals are. Then support them to achieve them.

5. Start simply. That is what iteration is for. You will progress further with feedback and learning.

We are all so much more than what we do for work. The reality is what we do is a by product of why we do it. Thank you Edmond Lau for reminding me of this.